Sci-Project : Sugar Rockets

Summer is coming up!
Don't know what to do? Have some fun with science!
This project is suitable for those who want to have some awesome science experience.

How to make homemade Core burning rockets out of 

• Domino Powdered Confectioners Sugar 16oz ($6.49)
• 1 Lb Potassium Nitrate  ($5.99)
• Durham Donald 168 Water Putty 1lb ($2.6)
• Paper
• Match heads Jarden #4878902122 250CT Anywhere Matches ($2.99)
• Waterproof Visco Cannon Fuse - 2.0 mm - 20 feet ($3.50)

Don't use any steel when making rockets because of the spark hazard. Test fire rockets on launching stands where there are no weeds or flammable materals nearby. It is best to conduct rocket tests after it just rained. (Who cares anyway? Do it when you want it!)

STEPS


To make a sugar powered rocket, you have to follow certain steps, I really have to warn you to be careful at all times when handling or making a rocket, since it is flammable.
There are 3 parts in making rockets:

• Propellant
• Rocket Body
• Delay

PROPELLANT

1. Get a good propellant to lift the rocket. The size of the rocket will determine whether you could need a slow or fast buring propellant. For small rockets, the faster the burn the better, while the larger the rockets need propellants that burn slower so the rocket does not exceed pressure limits and burst.
2. Gather your propellant materials. Which is KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate), Powdered Sugar, Rock Tumbler with marbles.
3. Dig a hole if you don't have sandbags to put the tumbler in because of the defragmentation hazard of the propellant being mixed.
4. Boil 2 cups water and add 2 pounds KNO₃ until all of it is dissolved.
5. Boil out all the water until you get a crusty, white powder left. That was fractional recrystalization; the KNO₃ was pilled, so we dissolved it in water to break the strong crystal formations and get a powder. It should be clumpy and look like a cake, so get a hammer and break the clumps and throw it in the rock tumbler and tumble it until it's a very fine dust.
6. Add the powdered sugar, by weight rather than volume. You should have 60% KNO₃ 40% Carbon (optional 5% Mg dust for nice tail).
7. Add KNO₃ and sugar to the rock tumbler with marbles and place it in a hole or pile sand bags around it. Propellants are not explosive, but they do burn fast. A fast burn could be 4000fps yet it would still be a fast burn. When a substance detonates, the entire substance turns to a gas. This is much quicker, more efficent, and the reaction is hotter, so it produces thousands of atms of pressure, compared to propellants that could produce half that under ideal conditions. You will get a finished product in 6 hours of tumbling. Be extremely careful when turning on and off the tumbler because it could burst if the powder takes fire.
8. Test your propellent by putting 1/8 of a teaspoon of propellant on a board outside and and carefully lighting it. You should get a fast burn and little residue of carbon on the test surface.
9. Continue to make many different mixes if the propellant if it does not burn fast enough. The entire pile should go up in a puff of smoke like a ninja smoke bomb; don't make it any faster! Don't leave the rocket tumbler on for the entire weekend or it will become very sensitive to shock.

ROCKET BODY

1. Case your propellant in a wrapped up piece of paper.
2. Wrap the paper in layers while putting glue around the ram rod up to 1/8 of an inch thick and let it dry over night. Making the motor casing is harder to make then the propellant. Make sure there are no bubbles in the casing or during the burn, the pressure with burn a hole in the motor.
3. Mix the water putty until it is very thick and not sticky.
4. Put the water putty on the spindle. A little will go a long way, so don't overdo it.
5. Put the motor casing in the spindle with the putty at the bast. With a rubber mallet, give the putty light taps until it has taken the form of the nozzle. Remove it slowly from the spindle and let the putty dry for an hour. Put the motor casing back on the spindle and charge with propellant. Pound until it is very stiff. The higher the density of the propellant in the rocket, the more thrust it will have. Continue to add propellant until it is clear of the spindle and add the delay propellant.

DELAY
This is normal propellant with 10% Baking soda to decrease thrust.

1. Add an end plug made of water putty.
2. Let the rocket dry on a rack and in an air tight container because the propellant is hydroscopic, which means it will take out the water from the air and add it to the propellant, making it a poor rocket.
3. Grind match heads and coat the core of the rocket so it takes fire easly. Insert a visco fuse, also known as a cannon fuse, into the nozzle.
4. Glue the guidance stick to the side of the rocket. Make sure the rocket will be stable in flight by placing the rocket on your finger just behind the nozzle. If it balances or the stick side falls, then it will be stable. #Balance your rocket with clay and just have fun because it is only the beginning of what you can do!

I know it's pretty damn long, but it will worth doing.

After all it's summer right?

HAVE FUN!